The bipartisan bonhomie marks a refreshing break from the dark days of spending fights that descended on the Capitol after the 2010 elections swept a wave of hard-line conservative tea party candidates into office.

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Did You Know?

English speakers borrowed bonhomie from the French, where the word was created from bonhomme, which means "good-natured man" and is itself a composite of two other French words: bon, meaning "good," and homme, meaning "man." That French compound traces to two Latin terms, bonus (meaning "good") and homo (meaning either "man" or "human being"). English speakers have warmly embraced bonhomie and its meaning, but we have also anglicized the pronunciation in a way that may make native French speakers cringe. (We hope they will be good-natured about it!)

Origin and Etymology of bonhomie

French bonhomie, from bonhomme good-natured man, from bon good + homme man